Having Wives And Raising Children Levels Me Up

Chapter 76: 76. A Strange Plant.

"Ohh, that sounds terrible."

"Yeah, it would have been terrible, if not for one strange little detail. You see, the fox’s tail glowed."

"It glowed?"

"Yeah, it glowed like a lantern, right at the very tip, but no one knew why. Some say she was born under a falling star, whilst others said a forest spirit took pity on her and left a piece of its own light behind. But whatever the reason was, that little glowing tail meant she could always find her way home in the dark, even without being able to see a thing."

Rowena’s expression had softened considerably as she fully absorbed the story. "So she used the glow in her tail to hunt?"

"Nah, that’s impossible cause she’s blind, remember?"

"Yeah, so what other use was her glowing tail for?"

"Guidance."

"Guidance?"

"Yes, the little fox used her tail to guide others."

"Other foxes?"

"Not just other foxes, but travelers who’d lost their way in the forest at night. Mostly little lost children who had no way of returning home, or wounded animals trying to find their way back to their dens. Whenever she sensed someone nearby who was frightened or lost, she’d let her tail glow brighter and lead them safely through the trees, whilst asking for nothing in return."

"But why ask for nothing in return?"

Austin smiled down at her as he stroked her hair softly. "Because she remembered what it felt like to be the one who needed help and couldn’t see where she was going. She figured the least she could do, with the strange gift she’d been given, was make sure no one else ever had to feel that lost and alone in the dark."

Rowena was quiet for a long moment after that, pondering on the kindness of that particular fox toward strangers.

She simply stared at Austin whilst pondering this before asking. "Did the fox ever find someone who could see for her? Someone to walk beside her, instead of her always being the one leading alone?"

Austin considered the question carefully.

In a way, Rowena was trying to relate herself to the little fox in this situation, so Austin knew he had to reply to her question carefully.

"Yes, she did. She found someone who didn’t need her to be strong all the time, and she found someone who was happy just walking next to her, regardless of whether she could glow in the dark or not."

"That’s..... actually a really good ending."

"Yeah, I thought you’d like it." Austin replied, and Rowena smiled softly.

The two of them remained silent for a while, simply enjoying the quiet in the room as the evening light shifted slowly across it, until Austin eventually glanced toward the window and noticed just how much time had quietly slipped away from them.

"Oh, would you look at the time. I should probably get going, or else Nora and Luna will be wondering where I’ve run off to." Austin said reluctantly as he gently eased himself out from beneath her.

Rowena sat up as well before smoothing down her hair with a small, contented smile. "I’ll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Of course. Same time?"

"Definitely. I’ll be expecting you then." She told him whilst walking him to the door before watching his retreating figure disappear down the hallway.

Rowena smiled as she watched him walk away, and she continued to smile as she replayed everything that had happened today and how she had spent the whole day with Austin by her side.

It wasn’t until she turned back toward her room that Rowena suddenly remembered Sylvie’s earlier disappearance, and then she recalled the strange, secretive conversation she’d stumbled upon Austin and Sylvie having in the garden that morning.

Looking back now, she definitely hadn’t seen the fairy at all since then, and now her curiosity was getting the better of her, so Rowena made her way back outside, retracing her steps toward the same patch of garden where she’d found Austin and Sylvie earlier.

But what she saw in the garden stopped her completely dead in her tracks.

In front of Rowena were a cluster of her household’s elf maids gathered around the very same patch of soil Austin and Sylvie had been at that morning.

The female elf maids were all chattering excitedly among themselves whilst some were pointing and exclaiming over something Rowena couldn’t quite see from where she stood.

"What’s going on here?" Rowena asked softly as she stepped closer, and one of her maids turned toward her in surprise, practically vibrating with excitement as she gestured toward the ground.

"Countess! Look at this! We don’t know how it happened, but this entire patch has yielded over five hundred crops, all in a single day!"

"What?" Rowena’s eyes widened as she finally got a proper look at what the maid was pointing to.

Where there had only been freshly turned soil that morning, there now sat an entire patch overflowing with strange, lumpy, brown-skinned vegetables.

Looking closely, there were dozens upon dozens of them, more than Rowena could begin to count at a glance.

"How is this possible?" She glanced at the maids, and all of them explained what they knew.

====

The next day, Rowena woke with a groan.

She pressed one hand flat against her face as though she could rub the grogginess straight out of her skull, but she couldn’t, so she blinked up at the ceiling for a moment, trying to gather herself, before turning her head out of habit to search for the familiar glow of her little fairy companion.

And once again, the cute little fairy wasn’t in her room, just like yesterday.

Realising this, Rowena frowned before pushing herself upright.

Then she scanned the room properly this time, starting from the windowsill, to the curtain folds, and then to the little woven basket she’d set up specifically for Sylvie near the bed.

But just like yesterday, everything was empty today as well.

"That’s twice now." Rowena murmured to herself as a faint crease formed between her brows.